Friday, November 30, 2018

Incrusting spongeMyxilla incrustans
This sponge can be found on rocky subtidal areas at Race Rocks It
commonly grows over the surface of swimming scallop shells. It is
believed to form a mutualistic association with the swimming scallop,
obtaining a moveable substrate while preventing predation of the
scallop. Apparently the smell of the sponge deters the sea stars which
may be intending to prey on the scallop. It is an extremely variable
widely distributed species ranging from intertidal to 2540 m. (The Race
Rocks Taxonomy)

King tide floods part of Vancouver's seawall, offering glimpse into city's future
Parts of Vancouver's seawall were submerged Thursday morning after a
king tide lifted water levels in False Creek to 50 centimetres above
normal. Angela Danyluk, a city sustainability specialist, trudged
through the water wearing gum boots. She suspects designs for parts of
the seawall weren't made with king tides in mind. "It looks like this
was probably designed for the high tide from maybe the 70s or the 80s,"
she told CBC News while passersby snapped photos of the rare flooding.
For researchers like Danyluk, the king tide is both spectacle and
warning: the high waters will likely be the norm in decades to come,
thanks to sea level rises. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Beach restoration: Limited access provided for area east of the Elwha River mouth
A soft opening of the Beach Lake Conservation Area east of the Elwha
River mouth is planned Saturday. Coastal Watershed Institute (CWI)
officials will begin with a short presentation at 1 p.m. followed by an
informal opening of the property for public use. The address is 2646
Lower Elwha Road. A short walk is required to access the beach from
Lower Elwha Road. Guests are encouraged to carpool as parking is
limited. Dogs and other pets are not allowed. CWI, which works to
protect and restore ecosystems through scientific research and
partnerships, secured state and federal funds for the conservation and
restoration of the 26-acre Beach Lake parcel east of the Elwha River.
Rob Ollikainen

Mother orca who carried her dead calf at center of hearings over Trans Mountain pipeline
Orca mother Tahlequah carried her dead calf for 17 days in July, but her
loss is living on among First Nations and Washington tribes that have
presented her as a living witness. The whale and the loss of her calf
were at the center of prayers, songs and testimony before Canada’s
National Energy Board in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, as it continued
hearings underway for three weeks as part of its reconsideration of a
massive expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Suquamish, Swinomish,
Lummi and Tulalip Nations traveled to Victoria to offer testimony to the
board against the pipeline, and share cultural teachings about the
importance of the orca, salmon and the tribes’ treaty-reserved fishing
rights. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Squamish Nation reaches $1.1 billion Woodfibre LNG benefit agreement
It wasn’t an easy decision for the Squamish First Nation to approve the
$1.6 billion Woodfibre LNG proposal, according to a spokesman, but it
came with potential benefits amounting to $1.1 billion in land and cash.
The Squamish First Nation council approved three economic benefit
agreements last week — one each with Woodfibre, FortisBC and the
province, but “contingent on the environmental conditions being met,
according to a news release issued Thursday. Qualified with the term “if
the project is built,” it talks about 40-year deals that include cash
payments totalling $225.65 million, 1,600 short-term and 330 long-term
jobs, business opportunities and land transfers of 422 hectares. Derrick
Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Federal Employees Are Warned Not to Discuss Trump ‘Resistance’ at Work
At workplaces across the United States, it is routine for Americans’
conversations to turn to President Trump — whether his policies are
good, whether he should be impeached, what to think about the
“resistance.” Some drink from MAGA mugs; others tape cartoons to their
cubicle walls portraying Mr. Trump as a Russian quisling. But roughly
two million people who work for the federal government have now been
told that it may be illegal for them to participate in such discussions
at work — a pronouncement that legal specialists say breaks new ground,
and that some criticized as going too far. Generally, federal employees
have been free to express opinions about policies and legislative
activity at work as long as they do not advocate voting for or against
particular candidates in partisan elections. But in a guidance document
distributed on Wednesday, the independent agency that enforces the Hatch
Act, a law that bars federal employees from taking part in partisan
political campaigns at work or in an official capacity, warned that
making or displaying statements at work about impeaching or resisting
Mr. Trump is likely to amount to illegal political activity. Charles
Savage reports. (NY Times)

Whales stranded in New Zealand: Another 50 pilot whales die
Fifty-one pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a beach on
the Chatham Islands off New Zealand. The mass stranding means more than
200 whales have died in separate incidents over the past week in the
region. New Zealand's Department of Conservation says between 80 and 90
whales were found to have become stranded in Hanson Bay on Thursday.
Several dozen managed to refloat themselves but 50 were found dead and
one had to be put down. (BBC)

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1 comment:

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